President Comandante Daniel and Compañera Rosario, Vice-President of Nicaragua,
on the occasion of the 43rd Anniversary of the Triumph of the Sandinista Popular Revolution
July 19, 2022
Introductory address by Rosario
Beloved Families, Nicaraguan Families, Families with Dignity, Proud Families, Christian Families, Socialist Families, Families of Solidarity... Here it is Love that reigns, here we live quietly, working so as to prosper, to get ahead, to move forward. We live here with affection. Hatred has no place here. Here They Could Not Prevail, Nor Will they... Here They Could Not Prevail, Nor WIll They...!
Here lives Sandino, here lives Zeledón, here is the Soul of the thousands of Nicaraguans who were present at the Triumph of the Revolution 43 years ago, with so much Hope and so much Confidence in the Power of the People. Here is the People, and a warm embrace, first of all, to all the Families, in all corners of our Blessed and Free Nation, we are united, we embrace each other, we are full of Faith, and full of Certainty, because the Struggles are always there, the Struggles continue, but our Victories are Certain. That's why we say : Honor, Glory and Victory!
Long live that Sacred Blood sustaining us and redeeming us!
That Sacred Blood of the hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans who have fought and given their Lives for this Nicaragua that we have now today and for which we care today with Fervor and Love!
Long live July 19th!
Long live Andrés, Zeledón, Sandino, Carlos, Tomás!
Long live the Heroic, Noble, Courageous People of our Nicaragua, Always Blessed and Always Free!
Long live the Sandinista Front, long live our People, long live their Families, may they live long, because as they live, they enlighten us and inspire us, and are an example for us, all our Heroes and Martyrs!
May the vision Always Beyond of our Sandino, of our General, who marks the Path, the Destiny and the Victorious Struggles of this People, of our People!
Long live the Eternal and Courageous Nicaraguan Youth!
May the Young People of all our Nicaragua live long, who today are committed, as always, to the Ideology of the Revolution... a Free Nation, a Nation with Dignity, a Christian Nation, a Nation of Solidarity, which is the Ideology of our Revolution.
Today we make our way with that legacy, the legacy of all those who physically are not here, or physically could not witness the Victory on July 19th 43 years ago, but there they were then. And here they are now. And they live on, because it is they who guide us by their example, their strength, and that is why we are a Force for Victories, a Force for Revolution, a Force for a Consciousness that renews itself and grows every day, a Force of Courage, an Anti-Imperialist Force, because we have suffered from them here, but we have also expelled them and defeated in every case.
Here the Yankee, the Enemy of Humanity, has found his shoe last... No one gives in here... Here We Neither Sell Out, Nor Surrender... Here We Neither Sell Out, Nor Surrender... Here We are a Free Country!
Strength, so Much Strength, the infinite Strength of Victories, of Lasting Joy, of Love, Love, Love, growing, Dignified, Proud, Patriotic, Revolutionary, Evolutionary, a Sandinista Heart and Soul forging Futures.
We enjoy the Certainties our formidable History has left us. We're certain that it bequeaths us everything we have lived through, everything in which we have distinguished ourselves, and we do excel. Because we want a Free Nation or Death. Because we want to live without submission. Because we are not slaves.
We won victory here 43 years ago, and earlier, because the heroism and sacrifices of our Heroes, of our Martyrs, left us the Obligation to Sing, which is the Obligation to Fight, to Believe and to Create a New Nation, the Nation of Everyone, the Nation with which the God of all Victories blesses us. That Merciful, Powerful, Omnipotent God, who knows that this is His People, one full of Love, of the Nation, of the Family, of Our Values. We are filled, precisely, with God.
Along Christian, Socialist and Solidarity oriented ways, we advance, with deep, spiritual, redemptive and liberating Faith, in God and in ourselves, His People.
These are New Times, but always Times of Struggle, of Brotherhood, of Coexistence. We listen, we feel, we live, we know, we sing the Song of the New Day, Women, Men, Youth, Neighborhoods, Districts, Communities, as Sisters and Brothers as Families, with the Strength of our Revolution, with the Strength of our Consciousness which is Revolutionary and Evolutionary, with great Pride, as we see every day on television, in the streets; a Pride and a Joy that truly represents the Power of our People.
Here, from the Memory and Glory of our Sovereign Honor, defended, raised to a Reality, the Banners and Symbols of our Magnificent Character, of our National Identity, all of that which each of us are. Each one, every one, we have believed and we continue to believe in this Nation of All.
We are not Sell Outs... We are not made for betrayal... Quite the opposite. We are made of Vigor and Glory, and we are made for Freedom, Brotherhood, Joy, Dignity, Sovereignty, Revolution.
Strength and Fortitude of Victories, Strength and Fortitude of a Revolution of Love, of Concord, which promotes the Rights of All, above all the Right to Live in Peace, the Right to build from Peace, the Right to live with Affection, and to reject and repudiate hatred, forever.
Here our Blue and White Flag, rescued once again by the Red and Black Flag, flies reflecting our Victorious Struggles against the Yankee, the Enemy of Humanity, and against his servants and lackeys. Our Glorious Flags fly Proudly with Dignity in our Sky and on our Soil, where we do not allow the Blood of Brothers and Sisters to spill, and where we do not allow either the Identity, the Decorum or the immense Pride of all generations of Nicaraguans to be dishonored.
Triumphs of our Historical Dignity, of a Historic Program a Model, a Revolution, a Consciousness that grows, that progresses along Paths of Joy and Future towards the Well-Being we deserve, in progressive advances against Poverty. And this is how we greet each other, united in Triumphs, working and prospering, with Faith in the Future!
And we also greet each other united with the Peoples of Our Caribbean America, and of the World, the Peoples that continue to fight, striving, conquering, All of Us Together; because all the Victories are ours.
We greet each other with the Permanent Commitment to Continue Changing Nicaragua. Daniel's first words in this Square, on July 20th, 43 years ago, were to renew the commitment of the Sandinista National Liberation Front to the Life of the People, to the Well-being and the Rights of our People. And that is what we are doing and the commitment we are fulfilling, advancing with the Revolution.
We embrace each other, freeing ourselves from the harshness, from the perversions of the terrorism that generates hatred, from the cruelty, from the curse of the lackeys and the sell outs. We know them, we know of all their tricks, and that is why we always say: They could not prevail, nor will they! They Could Not, Nor Will They! No one gives in here. Love lives here, and we are Sovereign, Beautiful, Brave Peoples, from Here, from There and from the Always Beyond!
It will always be July 19th, the 19th, and this Revolution of Brave People, of infinite Achievements, of Achievements reached by our Work, our Worthy Laurel, and by Peace, which neither could be nor will ever be stolen from us, these advances, twinned with the Revolutions of Justice and Well-Being, which in the whole World are Battles that are fought daily; unwavering in the creation of that Better World that we demand and deserve...
We Are Together, All Of Us Together, and We Are Going Forward, Always Beyond...!
We have the honor of having with us Comrade Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; a Caribbean Hero, a consistent, supportive, faithful man, loyal to his Principles and to the Struggles of our Peoples, to our Principles.
Accompanying also is the First Lady Eloise Gonsalves, who could not be present here with us this evening, but even so is watching, because this night we will also have the Honor of delivering to Ralph the Order Augusto Sandino in its Maximum Degree, the Battle of San Jacinto, the Glorious Battle of San Jacinto, a Symbol of our repudiation, our rejection of the yankee invader, and of the constant struggle for our Sovereignty, because that struggle is permanent, going on every day so long as there are Empires.
He is also accompanied by Comrade John Montgomery Daniel, Vice-Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
And from Cuba, inseparable Sister, how we are excited always when we mention Cuba, so many Memories, so much that unites us in the creation of that Destiny of Prosperity, our Peoples are achieving step by step in the midst of countless battles and above all full of Dignity, with Fidel, Raúl and Miguel, inseparable with that Heroic and Invincible People... And here with us too is Cuban Prime Minister, Compañero Manuel Marrero, who has been in Nicaragua in the past, a permanent friend and Brother, and also Compañera Josefina Vidal, Deputy Foreign Minister... Josefina, a lot Of Love!
And from Venezuela, so worthy of admiration, of Bolívar, of Chávez, of Nicolás, that so much beloved Bolivarian Venezuela. I was saying to my Venezuelan compañer@s one of these days on the phone, I think this is the Country where we have the most Monuments showing Love for Chavez. Here Chávez left with us, every time he came and with all his strong Solidarity, leaving indelible memories and admiration. We love you here, Compañer@s... The Venezuelan Chancellor is with us, Comrade Carlos Farías, Brother, Compañero...
And with us, our beloved Compañero, with whom we speak almost every day, Rander Peña, Vice-Chancellor of that Heroic Bolivarian Republic. An embrace. An embrace to Raúl, an embrace to Miguel, an embrace to Nicolás, to Cilia, to all the Compañer@s.
With Love Everything is Possible and with Love that Conquers Everything, we greet the Delegations that accompany us...
From Honduras, the Nation of Morazán, Brother Manuel Zelaya on behalf of President Xiomara Castro and also Comrade Vice Chancellor Gerardo Torres and his Delegation.
We also greet the Plenipotentiary Representative of the People's Republic of China, its People and its President, Brother Comrade Chen Xi, who is here with his Compañera, with his Wife. Greetings, Compañer@S.
To the Personal Representative of Comrade Sergei Lavrov, the Chancellor of the Russian Federation, Brother Alexander Shchetinin.
To the Hero of Peace, example of the cost of Peace, of so many mutilated Brothers, so many disabled Brothers, but never losing the Soul, the Convictions and his Fighting Spirit, our Hero of Peace between the Peoples of Nicaragua and the United States, Brian Wilson, Order Augusto Sandino. And we greet his Wife, Compañera Ulda García.
They accompany us and for us it is a Joy, a Pride, that we have with us joining in these moments of ratification of our Commitments to History, to the Future, to Victories, Representatives of Peoples and Governments, Ambassadors, Senators, who have arrived from Italy; Congressmen, have arrived from Mexico, from Peru... Greetings, Compañer@s; Leaders, Social, Political and Cultural Fighters... From Abkhazia, Germany, Republic of Korea, Japan, Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Korea, Popular and Democratic, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile, El Salvador, Spain, the United States, Italy, already mentioned, the Russian Federation, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Libya, Mexico, Nigeria, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Dominican Republic, Islamic Republic of Iran, United Kingdom, and as we already mentioned, the delegation of the Beloved People of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Djibouti.
And from our Free, Beautiful, Glorious, Sovereign, Undefeated Nation, we greet our National Authorities, those indomitable and incorruptible Authorities, Servants of our People, Daughters and Sons of Dario, Zeledón, Sandino, Carlos, Tomás, Daniel, the People President, of all our incomparable Popular Revolution :
To Dr. Gustavo Porras and to all the Sandinista Deputies of the National Assembly.
To Dr. Alba Luz Ramos, President of the Supreme Court of Justice.
To the National Heroine, Compañera Brenda Rocha, A Thousand Times Heroic, President of the Supreme Electoral Council.
To the Heroine, Companion Alma Nubia Baltodano, Magistrate of the Supreme Electoral Council.
To the Vice-President of the Supreme Electoral Council, Magistrate, Dr. Cairo Amador.
To all the Magistrates of the Supreme Electoral Council.
To Guerrilla Comandante Lumberto Campbell, Leader of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast and Member of the Supreme Electoral Council, as a Magistrate.
To the General Command of our Army, of the Glorious Army of our Nicaragua... To the Army General, Commander in Chief, Julio César Avilés Castillo, Head of the Glorious Army of our People... To the Chief of the General Staff, General Bayardo Ramón Rodríguez,... Inspector General, Major General Marvin Elías Corrales.
We salute the High Command of the National Police, the Azulitos... First General Commissioner Francisco Díaz, Director General, and the General Commissioners, Members of the National Headquarters, Ramón Avellán and Adolfo Marenco.
To the Doctor, Beloved Compañera, Ana Julia Guido, Heroic Guerrilla and Historic Militant of the Sandinista Front, today Attorney General of the Republic of our Blessed and Always Free Nicaragua.
To the Doctor, Compañera Wendy Morales, Attorney General of the Republic.
To Compañera Darling Ríos, Attorney General for Human Rights of our Nicaragua. Darling spends her life criss-crossing Nicaragua, visiting Families in all corners of our Nation.
To Dr. Ramona Rodríguez, Rector and President of the National Council of Universities... affectionately known as Monchita. A warm embrace, Compañera.
To the Cabinet, who all serve, every day, at all hours, to the Cabinet of the People's Government-President. A warm embrace to all the Ministers and Vice Ministers, who all serve the People as we all serve God.
To the Patriotic Media Workers of the Revolution, Compañer@s who work to inform the Genuine Truth of this Heroic, Blessed, Hardworking, Industrious, Talented, and Always Free People of ours!
To our Young People-President, these Young People willing to assume commitments... To the Sandinista Youth of July 19th, to the "Leonel Rugama" Cultural Movement, to the Guardabarranco Environmental Movement, to the Sports Movement that bears the name of our Champion of the People, of Solidarity, the great Alexis Argüello. And I have to mention that other Great Champion of our People is here with us, “Chocolatito” González. Always with his people.
The Solidarity Promotion Young People, who travels the Country delivering Solidarity Packages, Medicines, collaborating with all the Health Campaigns... Youth in Solidarity willing to assume Commitments.
The Network of Sandinista Youth Media Workers; the Federation of High School Students; the National Union of Students, University Students, Technicians, the Technological Trainers... And to all the Heroic and Eternal Youth of Nicaragua.
And we say, All of us Together, we declare that we embrace each other, we declare we are creating the Victories of each and every day. And we embrace the People-President Families, everywhere... The Women Presidents, the Men Presidents, the Worker Presidents, the Peasants, Producers, Entrepreneurs, Cooperatives, all Fighters in all fields, defenders of Love, Peace and the Right to Life in our Blessed Nicaragua. All of us together are the People-President!
Honor, Glory and Victories... Honor, History, Glory and Victories... Honor, Victories and a great Future. In Nicaragua It Will Always Be July 19th... Because there is a Nation, there is Love, Strength and Fortitude, Conscience and Pride of Dignity, Sovereignty and Freedom...
Because there is Youth, because there is Youth, because there is Youth... Because there Are Women, Brave, Formidable... Because there are Families, Grandmothers, Grandfathers, Brave, Noble, invariably Worthy... And All of us Together are the Revolution, the Revolution of the Always Beyond, the Sandinista Popular Revolution. And that's why we say :
Onward, let's March Comrades
Let's move forward to the Revolution
Our people are the Owners of their History
Architect of their liberation.
Fighters of the Sandinista Front
Forward, for the future is ours
The Red and Black Flag cloaks us
A Free Nation, To Overcome or Die!
The Children of Sandino
They don't sell out or give up, ever!
We fight against the Yankee,
Enemy of Humanity!
Onward, let's March Comrades
Let's move forward to the Revolution
Our people are the Owners of their History
Architect of their liberation.
Fighters of the Sandinista Front
Forward, for the future is ours
The Red and Black Flag cloaks us
A Free Nation or Death!
No one gives in here! Here we do not bend, we do not sell out, we do not give in...! We are Sandinistas, Nicaraguans by the Grace of God! Children of that God of all Victories, that God who blesses, enlightens and guides us, that God who strengthens our Patriotism and Dignity, because we are brave, indomitable, persevering, Evolutionary, Revolutionary, and we are going forward with Daniel, the Sandinista Front and the People-President!
Nicaragua is and will continue to be free because it has Children who love her. Long live Zeledón, long live Sandino, long Live Carlos, long Live Tomás, long Live Daniel, long Live the Sandinista National Liberation Front, long Live Sovereign Nicaragua, long Live our Great Nicaraguan People of Infinite Dignity. Long live the Revolution!
Onward!
Always Beyond!
Here there shines over us
A sun that does never sets,
And already that sun announces
All our New Victories!
Long live Nicaragua, Christian, Socialist and in Solidarity!
Viva Nicaragua!
Long live the Sandinista Front!
Long live the Nicaraguan people!
Long live our Heroes, our Martyrs!
Long live Daniel!
With Nicaraguan Pride, with Revolutionary Love, with the Sandinista Strength of Victories, we are today awarding the Augusto Sandino Order in its Highest Degree, to Beloved Comrade Ralph Gonsalves; Daniel calls him “Uncle Ralph”, I still don't know why, but he is Uncle Ralph, Ralph Gonsalves, a tireless Fighter against imperialism, who has dedicated his life to Peace, to Peace, to work for Peace, Unity, Integration and Prosperity, for the Happiness of Our Latin America and Caribbean, in accordance with the Supreme Ideals of our General of Free Men and Women of Nicaragua, Augusto Sandino.
Comrade Ralph Gonsalves has led the anti-colonial struggle of the Peoples of the Caribbean, firmly demanding that the Colonial States acknowledge just reparations for the genocide of Indigenous Peoples and the consequences of slavery in the Countries of the Caribbean Community.
The Companion Ralph Gonsalves has played a prominent role in the construction of the Bolivarian Alliance of Nuestramérica (ALBA), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), PETROCARIBE, as spaces of anti-Imperialist Struggle and Union and strengthening the Brotherhood and Solidarity between the Peoples of Our Americas and the Caribbean.
The firm anti-colonialist and anti-imperialist vocation of Compañero Ralph reflects the Spirit of the National Hero of San Vicente, Joseph Chatoyer, who rejected the chains of colonial oppression, and inspired the struggle for Freedom, Dignity and Justice of the Garifuna Peoples of the Caribbean and Central America.
Compañero Ralph Gonsalves has been a loyal friend of the Nicaraguan People, aware of the Ideals of the Sandinista Popular Revolution and the tireless struggle of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, for Freedom, Sovereignty, Self-determination and Independence.
Comandante Daniel, President of the Republic of Nicaragua, in the exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution, grants to Compañero Ralph Gonsalves the Order Augusto Sandino in its Maximum Degree, “the Battle of San Jacinto”, recognizing how his entire Life has been dedicated to the Self-determination and Sovereignty of Peoples, and to the struggles against Colonialism and Imperialism.
We present this Order Augusto Sandino to Comrade Ralph Gonsalves, in this Act of Solemn and Joyful Celebration, of Commitment to the Future of 43/19... 43/19 of the Sandinista Popular Revolution in this Historic Site, Plaza de la Revolución, today, July 19th.
Comandante Daniel has signed, and it is established that this Order and this Recognition will be delivered here, in front of the Nicaraguan People, in front of Nicaragua's Youth, in front of Nicaragua's Families.
Address by Ralph Gonsalves
Comrade President, my Beloved Friend, Daniel Ortega; your Beloved Lady Wife, Vice-President of Nicaragua, Compañera Rosario Murillo; Leaders of the different Institutions of the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua; Excellencies and Friends, Distinguished guests from around the World attending this historic event of the 43rd Anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution; Beloved People of Nicaragua and all the Warriors of the Nicaraguan People, good afternoon.
I accept with great humility this Distinction and on behalf of all the Brothers and Sisters of Latin America and the Caribbean with whom I have been working for more than 50 years.
The struggle has been one, for Independence, for National Sovereignty, for the Freedom and Dignity of our Peoples, to be able to live our own Life according to our own rules and our own experience; for Peace, Justice and Prosperity for all.
I come from a small Country in our Hemisphere, but this small Country believes and subscribes to large Principles: The Defense of Sovereignty and Independence, non-interference and non-Intervention in our own affairs; so as to able to lead ourselves and our Civilizations onward, and to be able to walk together with all the Peoples around the World, in friendship but not in subordination. In that sense, we are friends with everyone and aspire for a Better World.
Based on my own experience and my understanding of the World and in the light of all those Principles that we defend, I can unequivocally say that no weapon pointed against Nicaragua will prosper.
On July 19, 1979 I had not yet met Daniel Ortega, but I knew him even before I met him, but from my understanding, my knowledge of him and of the People of Nicaragua, when the Revolution succeeded, I celebrated in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, because the Nicaraguan Revolution is our Revolution.
And I will tell you this, yesterday I was with the Garifuna People in Orinoco, I was with the Garifuna People and other Afro-Caribbean Peoples in Bluefields, and found another reason for me, for the People of San Vicente and the Grenadines and for the Greater Caribbean, to give our unequivocal support to the Sandinista Front and the Revolution.
An additional reason is because the Garifuna People, who were born in San Vicente and the Grenadines, and the Caribbean Peoples told me wherever I went, the Caribbean People said that they are in support of the Sandinista Revolution and they live it and know it daily, and if they tell me that it is so, I believe it, and I behave that way and act that way.
And I want to thank the Sandinista Revolution for helping so much in integrating the Garifuna People and the Afro-Caribbean Peoples, completely integrated into the development of Nicaragua and at the same time also allowing them to enjoy Autonomy and to be able to advance in this Multi-Ethnic and Multicultural Nation, and develop with Justice, Peace and Prosperity.
Those who want to lie about the Sandinista Revolution must first learn from that example, because if they learn from it, instead of trying to lie about it, they would work to elevate it.
Nicaragua and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines work very closely at the United Nations; we are Founding Members of the Bolivarian Alternative for Our America; we are members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States; we work very closely in the Association of Caribbean States.
And now the Empire does not understand that, it has a country of 350 million people, it has the largest economy in the World, it is said that they have the largest army in the World; Nicaragua has about 6.2 million people, a Central American country that only aspires to develop its country and its People.
Why in the name of God, such a big country, with so many resources, with so much military force, why attack a country like Nicaragua? I ask myself that question daily, and it is difficult for everyday understanding to understand something like that. But even that which one cannot understand, we know what they are doing and we know that it is wrong.
I call on the United States of America, a country of great achievements, to come closer in friendship with the People and Government of Nicaragua. Is that so hard? Instead, what have we been seeing? The Summit of the Americas, at the beginning of this month, in Los Angeles, the United States of America unilaterally and wrongly arrogated to itself the right to exclude Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua from attending that Summit. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for reasons of principle refused to attend.
There are some countries, no, the whole of Latin America and the Caribbean came to the conclusion that the United States was wrong, there was unity on this issue, but some Countries decided simply not to attend at the level of Head of State or Government. I decided not to attend at all.
My American friends begged me to at least send someone else, but if you invite me to me to your house and for reasons of Principle can not attend, it would be a bad attitude for me to send someone else, and in my civilization good manners have weight.
If you invited me to come and then sent me the invitation in writing, if you wanted me to invite someone else, you also had to write to me and say, "if you can't attend for reasons of Principle, I wouldn't consider it bad behavior if you sent someone else". I did not receive that second letter, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines did not attend for reasons of Principle, and I did not send anyone, Comrade Daniel, out of good manners.
For those who wanted an explanation, they received it here in Managua. I reiterate my gratitude for this great honor. For this great honor I commit myself to live the rest of my life trying to meet your expectations, but it is not only for me, it is for our Peoples, the Peoples of our Region, to continue advancing and fighting for the great Ideals and Principles of Sandino.
As I said yesterday at Bluefields, what is required of us as Leaders? Thousands of years ago the Prophet Micah gave a simple explanation of what is required of a Leader: To act justly, to love Compassion, and to walk humbly with our God.
Happy Anniversary, Nicaragua!
Young People, remember that the condition of Youth is Heaven, with your Heart full of Love, that is a fixed mark that doesn't care about the difficulties, and always know that with Solidarity among the People and all around Latin America and the Caribbean and around the World, there is no power, there is no weapon that can be pointed against the People of Nicaragua and be able to prosper.
Thank you very much. Good night.
Daniel's Address
Beloved Nicaraguan Brothers, Beloved Families, all Children of this Blessed Land. It's 5 minutes to 9 at night and the truth is that we haven't felt the time go by. With the Energy of this Youth, with the Strength of this Youth, with the Singing of this Youth, with the Heart of this Youth, with the radiance of this Youth, the time has passed and we have not bothered to be watching the time, while it may already be late, I expected a bit more music right now, a little more singing, and that is the Strength of Nicaragua, that is Nicaragua's Strength. You represent the Strength, the vitality of this Country, of this Nation.
For in you, Beloved Young People, runs the blood of our Heroes, the blood of Diriangén, the blood of Nicarao, the blood of the Caciques who faced and died confronting the Spanish invaders. That blood is alive, they put them to death, but they did not kill their Spirit, they did not kill their Soul, their Soul and Spirit is here, in you and in all of us.
Our Brother, Ralph, asked why is the United States behaving that way, and when we say the United States we are talking about the United States leadership, because when they launched the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the United States people was not consulted. When the United States People if they got the nuclear bomb, that was a subject of discussion and analysis, among a few scientists with the US Authorities and the President, and rather the concern that they had was that if the bomb was going to explode or not going to explode, that's what they were worried about and they realized how many thousands the bomb could kill, and the higher the number they calculated that the bomb could kill the happier they were and the more animated they became.
And so they went with the bomb, transporting it, and they called it "La Niña“ or was it ”El Niño“, imagine the name they put on it, ”La Niña“ or ”El Niño“; that is how far the perversity of Empires and Yankee Imperialism goes, naming a weapon as deadly, as brutal as that, ”La Niña“ or ”El Niño".
And they went and launched it, and killed hundreds of thousands of citizens, Children, Adults, with a single blow, because they launched it on a city where there were no Japanese troops, there were no troops, it was not a military objective.
Right there they killed, they murdered many more citizens than all those who may have died right now in this war that the Empires have launched to try to destroy the struggle Humanity is waging to achieve the end of hegemony, and install Multipolarity on our Planet. That is the battle that is being fought there in Ukraine, where Europe and the United States do not want to see China growing economically.
Already from there, one can see the evil that some Human Beings have and that unfortunately is the evil the great powers have carried throughout history, colonizing Africa, Asia, Latin America, the great powers brought slaves from Africa to these Regions to sell them as if they were animals ,there in the slave markets. There is no God in the Soul of those people, there is no feeling in the Soul of those people; and that behavior is not just recent.
When you asked and wondered why they do not seek understanding, it is that they are not prepared to seek understanding, they are prepared only to impose, occupy, bomb and murder, as they have done throughout history.
Let me summarize what the history of Nicaragua is, if you don't mind. Here the Spanish came, and well, there was indigenous resistance, many Caciques fell facing the Spaniards who came, like true hypocrites, with the Cross and with the Sword. And what did they say to our ancestors? Either submit or we'll put you to the sword. Yes, they had to renounce their gods, because they had their gods; they were told, Either you renounce your gods and get baptized, or we put you to the sword.
And in that way they exterminated millions of Human Beings throughout America, from Canada all the way to there in the area of Chile; they exterminated millions, in the name of God, sanctified by the High Authorities of the Church. There was no Pope there protesting against these barbarities, against these crimes, and of course there was the complicity of all the Powers who were quarreling among themselves and waging wars were among themselves so as to take over the World.
It was a war between the European Powers when there was still no European Union, you know very well, beloved Brother, England, France, Spain, wanting to dominate all of Europe and after coming to dominate all of Europe then going on to take over Africa, Asia, all of America. A hegemonic mentality, an egoistic mentality, a mentality that has nothing Christian about it, and all this they did with the blessing of the different Churches that existed at that time.
And what our ancestors did was fight, just as the Haitian people fought, who, subjected to slavery and dominated by France, were the first People who rose up and with makeshift weapons and other weapons that they managed get hold of, managed to become independent. The first nation that became independent in Our America was Haiti, that long-suffering, heroic, martyred people.
And what heart the Haitian Leaders had who were at the forefront of that Revolution, that was when Bolivar was then waging the battle to liberate Venezuela, and it was Haiti, incredible as it seems, the Haitian People gave arms and gave Solidarity, and provided support to the Great Liberator, Simon Bolivar, to continue the Battle for the Freedom of Our America.
How different these attitudes are, there on the one hand the Haitians with an attitude of solidarity seeking their Freedom, and on the other hand the great powers, the rich, those who were looking for gold and looking for slaves so as to better exploit the land, and simply exterminating those who did not submit.
And today we have delivered this Order to you, Beloved Brother, and this summarizes our History, this explains very well what the United States is. Nicaragua became independent from Spain with all of Central America back in 1821, under the influence of the liberation led by Bolívar in the South and by Hidalgo and the Mexican Liberators in the North. That helped Central America to free itself from Spain, to become independent from Spain, in the year 1821.
And already in the year 1853 there were Yankee Companies disputing the passage through Nicaragua... Why? Because ever since the arrival of the Spanish, and later the English who fought over territories also here, the Spanish, discovered that here in Nicaragua, a narrow territory effectively a “waist” in the Americas, we are a narrow band these Central American Countries, very narrow, for to the North is broad and South is also broad, but here is a narrow waist, and back then they discovered there was a river, the San Juan River, which, after entering it through the Caribbean leads to a lake of 9,000 square kilometers, one that you can visit, Beloved Brother, and across that Lake of 9,000 square kilometers towards the Pacific Sea lies a small stretch of 14 kilometers, which it would be necessary to break to make a Canal
At that time the Empires said that whoever dominated that passage dominated the whole of America, and they brawled over it, the English faced off here with the Spanish, wanting to dispute the occupation of Nicaragua's Caribbean Area. And there along the San Juan River the English made incursions on many occasions, including the famous Admiral Nelson who sailed up to see how to capture the position the Spanish had there, in an area that is known as El Castillo, not far from the the lake. And he was the one who got closest in advancing to find out how to take El Castillo, but in the end he could not take it and there was nothing left for him to do but return home.
That is what the Empires did in Nicaragua. And who consulted Nicaragua? What right did the Empires have in Nicaragua to be deciding? And after Independence, as I was saying, United States companies came and saw that this route is here, and they see the immediate usefulness of the passage, why? Because it was the time of the Gold Rush in the United States and American Citizens were going crazy to be able to transit from New York to San Francisco in search of Gold.
It was the Gold Rush, and they realized that the journey by land was very long, but above all very dangerous, because there was still some indigenous resistance and there were also bandits and robbers.
Then, the gringo entrepreneur, Vanderbilt, who was very astute, he sets out to explore and realizes that there's a good business here, and her makes a contract with the local government, which was a government that immediately put itself at the service of the United States, which was the power already established in these territories to keep out the Europeans, so that all this was for the united States.
Hence the Monroe Doctrine was born, of "America for the Americans", that is, the Peoples of the Latin America and the Caribbean for the United States, for the Yankees, for the North American Empire, and the Transit Company began to operate; Transit Company was the name that Vanderbilt gave it.
And so the boats from New York set out, from that coast of the United States boats with a large draft set out and arrived at the mouth of the San Juan River, which is the Caribbean Coast where you visited. Of course, the river couldn't take such large ships as those coming from New York to transit.
So they set up an operation there, and had small boats that ferried the passengers from the bigger ships into the smaller vessels to take the passengers, along the river past San Carlos, entering the Lake, and finally they opened up a route just by Rivas.
The first route had been started a little further the North, but then they saw that route was shorter, and so they came there in the small boats to where there is that little narrow hop, skip and a jump to the Pacific Ocean, and there had some small boats that ferried the passengers with their baggage to the carriages and the carriages took them to the port where was already another boat of larger draft where they could load whole cargo and all passengers, and then they set out to the West Coast of the United States.
That's how thousands of Americans passed through Nicaragua, although they also opened another route also via Panama, but here the same Companies ended up fighting among themselves, and paying off governments to go to war with rival political parties, and so they brought hired Yankee mercenaries, who came from the American Army, from the Army of the South.
They were the slaveholders and along came a gentleman very well known here, William Walker, who was a Lawyer, he came at the head of the mercenaries, and brought with him a Captain, actually a Colonel, Byron Cole, and he also had other Officers; but suddenly, these same people who came to support the government warring with other parties, started taking command and giving orders which did not go down well with the people who had brought them and they began firing on the people they had brought. And all of a sudden, well, they occupy Nicaragua, hold an election and William Walker is elected; and at his inauguration is the American Ambassador, so he is recognized by the Yankee Government.
Meanwhile, the Nicaraguans get together here in desperation, and the neighboring countries also realized, that subsequently this Yankee is also going to occupy Honduras, he is going to occupy Costa Rica, he is going to try and occupy Mexico, so then a military alliance was made and a National War begins. It is the First National War in Nicaragua against Yankee expansionism. Tell me, Brother, how we can talk to the Yankees?
So the war begins and the people of Nicaragua who are fighting come along and there is resistance, and a heroic battle which is called the Battle of San Jacinto, which is the name of this Order, the Augusto Sandino Order in its Maximum Degree “Battle of San Jacinto”, because it is the First Glorious Battle that Nicaragua wages against Yankee expansionism and defeats it.
So, in that Battle of San Jacinto the Yankees had superiority in armament, they had automatic weapons, while the troops here in Central America did not have automatic weapons, and there in San Jacinto the troops that Nicaragua had were poorly armed who were defending the position behind a wall, a stone wall.
And a heroic deed took place which all the children here in our Country know, since they go to School, you know that the historical fact is that at one point a US soldier gets over the stone wall and is about to kill a Nicaraguan soldier; and the Nicaraguan soldier does not have an automatic weapon and has already fired his gun, so what he does is grab a stone, he picks up the stone and hurls it at the gringo, and drops the gringo to the ground. And the gringo stayed down as the story goes.
From that point on they suffered defeat after defeat after defeat and in their retreat they burned down the city of Granada and left a sign there in English that said: "Granada was her". They burned down the city of Granada, the oldest city we have, even on the Continent it is the oldest. Then they continued to the Pacific Coast where a ship sent by the Yankee government arrived to rescue them and take them to the United States. That was Nicaragua's first battle against Yankee expansionism.
Then, the First Revolution took place in Nicaragua, one that we cannot forget, Beloved Youth, Beloved Brothers and Sisters, one that cannot be forgotten. That was a great Revolution in difficult times, because they were the times of obscurantism.
Back then the First Liberal Revolution took place here in Nicaragua, in 1893, it was led by General José Santos Zelaya, a man who had an academic background, he had been in France and had been nourished by the thought of the time: Freedom, Equality, Fraternity, the French Revolution. And so he comes and makes a Revolution here in Nicaragua, he makes the Revolution and confronts all the country's Conservative Forces.
He established Secular Education, Popular Education, when all this had been forbidden because it was in the hands of the Religious Orders, he clashed with the Religious Orders, a strong clash; and he was forced to expel a number of Priests, Bishops, who were making war on him and conspiring here. And the Yankees were conspiring too, because Zelaya was a Nationalist and he promoted works here, Banking, the Railroad, something that was incredible at that time in a country like Nicaragua.
And the Europeans were looking to Zelaya so as to build the Canal, and in those circumstances the Yankees simply sent him a letter, back in 1909 the Secretary of State of the United States, Philander Knox, sent him a Note that is known to History as the Knox Note, where he says: General Zelaya you have so many days to leave Nicaragua, and if you do not, then the US Army troops are going to remove you from the Presidency.
Zelaya did not want to resist, he did not want to fight, that is, he did not have that kind of courage; he did have the courage, and it must be recognized, the courage to make a Revolution in those conditions against the Conservative Forces, and generated works of progress for Nicaragua. But then he didn't have the courage, the strength to confront and resist the yankees, so he chose to leave Nicaragua, and that soon created a situation totally chaotic in the Government that took over, a few looking for how to look good to the US who look for people they can buy off, while others opposed.
And at that point a Liberal General appeared, General Benjamín Zeledón, who began to give battle against the sell out forces that had participated in the coup against Zelaya. And then the Yankees come and send their troops, and the Yankee ships come to Nicaragua where the troops disembark.
It was the year 1912 and Zeledón giving battle and is fighting in the Masaya area where the Coyotepe Hill is, which is a good position to be able to resist in a combat, a good height. He was holding out there, and not giving in. And the Yankee Colonel at the head of the troops sends a message to Zeledón and tells him, Zeledón being also a professional man, he was a lawyer, and he sends a message to Zeledón telling him to surrender, to remember his family, his children.
Zeledón did not answer him, but sends a letter to his wife in which he says that he has no choice but to give his Life, that he cannot surrender because it would be a bad example for the People and for the Nation. And so on October 4th 1912, the day of his birthday, Zeledón was killed by the Yankee troops in combination with their local accomplices, and the Yankee troops took Zeledón's corpse and start dragging him on a cart through all the villages, so that people would be afraid to continue fighting against the Yankees.
And so we had the Yankees occupying Nicaragua until Sandino appeared who comes from political Liberalism too, but when Sandino saw that they were betraying their Principles, then he breaks with Liberalism, it was on May 4th, our Day of National Dignity in 1927, and there he did not sign the surrender papers.
The Yankees had to deal with all the Liberal troops that were advancing along the front, but then the Yankees would get in the way and stop them, so as to favor the Conservative troops. But the Liberals were led by a traitor who at the last minute called on his troops to hand over their weapons and so they all lined up one by one to deliver their rifle for which they got a peso, and in that way they disarmed the troops; only Sandino and 29 mine workers and peasants... They made 30 with him! It was 30 with him! And that's where Sandino's battle against the most powerful troops on the planet began.
And the Yankees used their aviation for the first time against Sandino, bombing Sandino's positions, but time passed and they could not defeat him and they began to take casualties. So they had no choice but to withdraw from Nicaragua, but they left a dialogue they had rigged up, but with whom? With President Sacasa who was a man who may have seemed like a very good person, but who was really a pawn of the gringos.
When the yankees left defeated, and that's confirmed in the history of the US Army, among the defeats suffered by the US Army are two, along with the great Victory of the Vietnamese People is the defeat of the US Army here in Nicaragua in those years. In other words, it was the first defeat of the Yankee army in Our America, and in the years 1855-56 was the first defeat of Yankee expansionism here in Nicaragua.
So, we had to talk to the Yankees, and the Yankees put together their plan with Somoza, put Somoza at the head of the Army whose leading officers were all American Colonels and other American Officers.
So it fell to Sandino, and at that time Sandino reflected and said, because they warned him: he's going to kill you, General, we say, do not go to Managua; and then he answered, in these moments, the fight is much more difficult, much harder, because it is easier to fight an enemy that one can see and who is there in your land, hateful towards your land and whom you are struggling to drive out, than against an enemy who is no longer there.
So he says, the Yankees have already left, such that it's more difficult, that's why there's nothing left for me to do but to dialogue, to negotiate. And the Yankees and the Yankee Ambassador were all supervising the dialogue. Sandino comes to Managua, stays at a house, in a neighborhood of Managua, with 2 or 3 compañeros, and then goes to the Presidential House where President Sacasa is going to give him a dinner.
Meanwhile, a photo has been taken of Somoza with Sandino, that is, Somoza went like a snake to look for Sandino, telling him, we are Brother Freemasons , and then they embrace, there is that photo for the History, the embrace of Judas, the embrace of the viper.
Sandino set out with confidence and as the Yankee Ambassador is also involved, and the President has invited him to dinner, the President's daughter was there at dinner, and later at night time, and when Sandino set off to go to his house, Somoza's troops were waiting for him, they capture him with two other Sandinista Leaders and assassinate the three of them.
And they looked for a way to erase any traces, to the point that even now, and as the song says: “The guerrilla's grave, where, where, where can it be?”We have searched everywhere for it, we have sent Specialists, Archaeologists to look to see if they can succeed in finding it and and it has not been possible. Although there are a lot of stories, that they burned him, that then they went to throw his remains into the lake. But in other words, Somoza didn't want to leave a trace of Sandino because he knew what Sandino meant and he thought that if he left a trace of Sandino he was going to be faced with a continuing Sandinista Struggle. He could never imagine that Sandino's mark had already been left on the Nicaraguan people within the Nicaraguan people, and it is still in the Nicaraguan people.
Then came the Yankee domination of Nicaragua with Somoza as President, and the yankees here organized and armed Somoza's army, training them, maintaining him, defending him, receiving the tyrant in the White House, using Somoza's troops for the invasion of the Dominican Republic under the auspices of the OAS, all to such a degree that when they asked Roosevelt, who was a close friend of Somoza, why he was so attentive and so friendly with Somoza, Somoza being a criminal, then Roosevelt replied in English, “he's a son of a bitch”, that's what he said to them, “but he's our son”" was the Yankee's cynical reply.
So, Beloved Brother, what dialogue can there be with the devil? As Che says: You can't believe the Yankees, Imperialism, not even a little bit, not even a teeny weeny bit so, because it'll be the end of you.
We, yes, would like to have good relations with the United States, but it is impossible; from here there has never been a single aggression against the United States.
Oh, I should also add, Zelaya did have the courage and that's why the Yankees ended up throwing Zelaya out, the Yankees had sent some gringos, mercenaries, to blow up some boats here; they blow up the boats and Zelaya's police managed to capture the gringos and they received the death penalty. Then the Yankee government told Zelaya not to kill them; but they were killed since it was the Law. So that made the Yankees more angry, that Zelaya was exercising the law, since they apply the law the way they like.
With this, Beloved Brother, I am answering your question why there is no dialogue, dialogue is impossible, dialogues are for putting a noose around one's neck so that one ends up putting the noose around one's own neck.
Here we have an American citizen, born in the United States, who was in the United States Army, who was in the United States Air Force, who was in the wars there in Vietnam, and he was decorated.
Then, when he returned, he realized that these wars are unjust and he learned of the war the Yankees had launched here in Central America against Nicaragua, in El Salvador, and he organized with other War Veterans, American military men who had already demobilized and they organize in their own way, for what? To take the fight in the United States, not by having a dialogue, because how were they going to be able to have a dialogue. So what did they do? Trains were leaving from a weapons storage area, carrying the weapons coming for Central America, for the Contra, for all those people; so, what did they do? They would lie down on the rails to stop the train for at least a while and make a form of protest, and there was newspaper coverage, of course.
They did this once, twice, there came a time when they are lying on the rails, and the US authorities then gave the order to the military man who was at the front of the train, to conduct the train at them. And he drove the train over them.
He lost both his legs; he like him, moves about with a lot of heroism, with a lot of strength, with those prostheses, and he has not stopped fighting. And I am sure that like him, there are thousands of US Americans who have a good soul, who are US American children of God and not children of the devil, like those those who spend their lives attacking our peoples.
Is Brian Wilson organized not a Hero, laying down his Life for the struggle of our Peoples? And what did he gain by that? It was an act of conscience, an act of dignity, an act of shaming.
And there is an organized group of US Americans who maintain that struggle, some of them accompany us here, we thank them.
We also greet and thank the presence of Brothers and Sisters and the Greetings that we have received from Chilean Brothers and Sisters, Uruguayan Brothers and Sisters. Here we had a Chilean contingent fighting, Chilean brothers who fell in the fighting, in the Final Offensive; Uruguayans too; brothers of different nationalities, Panamanians, brothers who came from all over Latin America to accompany the fight, already in the Final Offensive.
Tonight, on this 43rd Anniversary, Beloved Brothers and Sisters, let's see, here is the Prime Minister of Cuba, there is also the Foreign Minister of Venezuela, that is, there are three of us here from ALBA, so, I ask you to share the decision in the name of the ALBA, to dedicate this 43rd Anniversary to Brother Ralph Gonsalves.
Remarks by Rosario, Vice-President of Nicaragua,
after the 43rd Anniversary Event of the Sandinista Popular Revolution
July 19, 2022
Good night. Happy spirits, Joy... and this Joy reflects the deep feeling and sentiments of our People. We are a Joyful People, we are a People that blesses and thanks God every day, for the Peace that seals our Joy, which is our right... Joy and Peace, Sublime, Inviolable Rights of the Nicaraguan People.
You can see, as I say, what a fiesta...! Each Anniversary has become more Festive, Commemorative and committed, I mean commitment to the Future... But it is a great fiesta and a fiesta in which we do not stop celebrating, commemorating those who have bequeathed us this Free Nation, along with the obligation to defend it, to cherish it, to love it, and never to allow hatred to return here, in any shape or form, to express itself in violation of the Rights of Nicaraguans.
Earlier this morning, I think, I saw Father Miguel d'Escoto in one of the Historical Documentaries, he was coming from Costa Rica with the Governmental Junta, and a Journalist asked him: How do you feel, now we have already passed the Nicaraguan air border? I think of the fallen, he said, I think of the Heroes, the Martyrs. And every July 19 one thinks, in the Family, and it is a Family, the Great Nicaraguan Family venerates the example, follows the example of those who gave their Lives so that this Free Nation is defended with Love every day.
We feel moved, excited, content, happy, because Happiness, Joy are gifts from God, and we can only say that we know that God is Great, that our Christian Faith, our Socialist and Solidarity convictions, will be sustained, because they are the very Essence and deeply Spiritual Legacy of the Nicaraguan People, of our General Sandino; Essence and Legacy, Heritage that we guard and protect with everything we are. It is our Greatest Treasure, that Heroic Heritage, the Privilege of being History, and not only our Nation's History, but a History for this Continent and the World, of Dignity, of Defense of Sovereignty, of Struggle for Independence and of repudiation and rejection of the invading Yankee, the interventionist Yankee, the disrespectful Yankee, the criminal Yankee.
Our Comandante Daniel spoke, saying, “you cannot believe the yankees even a teeny went bit”, in Che's words, and we say, which he also mentioned that when they killed Sandino, murdered Sandino, they believed that they were going to delete him from history, but when they left here their apparatus of intervention, their mechanisms, their instruments, they did not take into account what we are as Nicaraguans, they did not take into account that Strength, the Dignity, the Honor of Nicaraguans cannot be removed, cannot be erased. We are a people used to fighting, and used to overcoming.
So many Peoples in the World, the Vietnamese People, the Cuban People after 60-odd years of blockade, the Nicaraguan People too we can say, no one gives in here, where the Yankee is considered an enemy of Humanity; also the Venezuelan people.
That is why every day we feel more united in all our battles, because we strive to live in Peace and prosper, working and prospering; we fight for the Supreme Happiness, as Bolívar said, and as Sandino said, that is, all Peoples making their way with all their Rights respected.
So, July 19th for us is Memory, it is History, it is Glory, it is Victory and it is Commitment to continue working and prospering, conscious that all the Triumphs are not only of the People, but they are certain. The struggle continues, and Victory is certain.
Let us go Forward, Compañer@s, with the Joy of Peace, of Goodness, of Love, of Meaning and Values, of the Ideals of Family and Community.
Onward...! Tomorrow some people will have the possibility to rest, for our part we continue working, because we know that it is indispensable, essential, to work, when our People have given us the honor, the privilege of serving them. So, we work tomorrow as we do every day, and may God preserve us all with Health, Contentment, with our Hearts willing to serve the People with more zeal, with more commitment, with more affection, with more dedication, always being aware that we owe everything to God and to the Great People to whom we serve.
Thank